Embattled Sen. John Ensign — who admitted last year to having an affair with a married staffer — suggested Wednesday that he’s been the victim of unfair “gotcha” journalism.

The Nevada Republican made the charge as he was being asked whether he’s been subpoenaed in a grand jury probe into the aftermath of his affair. Instead of answering that question, he descended into an extended rebuke of the press — including POLITICO — for the way it has covered the scandal surrounding him.

“Seeking of the truth should be not only part of the Justice Department and part of our judicial system, but also should be ... a goal of reporters today,” Ensign said. “Unfortunately, too much of our press is ... (1) biased or (2) just about ‘gotcha.’”

Asked if he thought the press was targeting him unfairly, Ensign said, “I’ll let you make your own call.”

“It’s just, I have a responsibility to do my job and, as part of this republic that we have, the fourth estate does too, and they’re both important roles,” he told POLITICO. “Unfortunately, some in my part don’t give it a good name. But some in your part don’t give it a good name, [and] it’s all of us trying to do our best. That’s all I’m trying to say.”

Asked if he thought he was giving his profession a good name, Ensign said: “That’s all I’m trying to say.”
Ensign has taken a shellacking since he announced last June that he had had an extramarital affair with former campaign aide Cindy Hampton.

Story after story — in POLITICO, in The New York Times and in the Nevada media — has divulged damaging details about the aftermath of the affair, including reports that Ensign’s parents paid Hampton and her family $96,000 after she and her husband, Doug — another former Ensign staffer — left the senator’s employment. The media have also raised questions about the legality of Ensign’s efforts to find work for Hampton’s husband after the affair ended.

The Justice Department and the Senate Ethics Committee are both investigating Ensign’s conduct, and both have issued subpoenas to members of the senator’s inner circle and to those familiar with his relationship with the Hamptons.

Ensign was once a rising star in the Republican Party — and a potential 2012 presidential candidate. But amid the ongoing investigations and the continued media scrutiny, he has had trouble regaining his footing in the Senate, and some of his Republican colleagues are wary of being too closely associated with him until they can be sure that the investigations don’t reveal anything worse.

Ensign has insisted that he complied with the law and with Senate ethics rules, and he suggested Wednesday that the press is out to get him.

“Whether it’s Republican or Democrat, it’s about nailing somebody,” Ensign said. “So sometimes people look at something, and whether or not it’s true, they want to try to nail them on it.”

Jon Ralston, a Nevada political analyst who has covered the Ensign scandal for the Las Vegas Sun, said he has little sympathy for Ensign’s complaints.

“It’s hard to play gotcha journalism when Sen. Ensign has been ducking questions on these questions since June 16 of last year,” Ralston said. “And Ensign simply will not answer basic questions about why his parents paid off the Hamptons, why he tried to find [Doug] Hampton jobs and why he put the arm on companies to hire him or contribute to campaigns. Is that fair to his constituents?”